PAC secures future of 3,000 Comsats dual degree programme students

The involvement of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) secures the future of 3,000 aspirants of Comsats University who availed as well as registered for dual degree programme by paying 2000 pounds for the degree from UK-based Lancaster University however along with the clause that it would not be a precedent in future.

Under the agreement signed between Comsats and Higher Education Commission (HEC) in the PAC meeting, Higher Education Commission will verify the COMSATS degrees of almost 3,000 students under the dual programme however not verify the degree granted by the Lancaster University because that did not need verification of Higher Education Commission.

The meeting of PAC held on Thursday along with its Chairperson Syed Khursheed Shah in the chair which took the matter of charging of 2000 Pounds from the aspirants of CIIT (Comsats Institute of Information Technology) as a result of granting UK affiliated university degree.

Though, the Comsats gave the responsibility to Higher Education Commission that it will be one time disclaimer and no new registration in the dual degree programme be made or if the Comsats or any other affiliated university offered a dual degree programme, then first of all they have to take the approval from higher education commission for commencing these sorts of procedure and they would also require to follow the procedure, rules as well as the regulation of the HEC policy.

The agreement between the Comsats and HEC was made after the hectic debate because both the two organizations have different views during the meeting and even both had self-confessed before the committee that they had made mistakes because of which this crisis exploded that put the future of almost 3,000 students at risk.

PAC warned that not a single person would be permitted to play along with the future of aspirants because it was a mistake of both organizations, Comsats and HEC.

It was also unveiled in a meeting that Comsats had received 3.5 million pounds from the apsirants in the name of dual degree programme and however they used the name of the Lancaster University, educated them the national curriculum not the curriculum of Lancaster University.

During the meeting, the director of Comsats University Dr Junaid Ziadi confessed before the committee that the Comsats introduced dual degree programme without the permission of higher education commission claiming that following the signing of the MoU along with the Lancaster University in 2009, they wrote a letter to HEC for authorization however, they did not get any reply form HEC and hence it was presumed that they have no issue on it. He moreover added that “It was over smartness from our side and undoubtedly it was a mistake”.

The Principal of Comsats University confessed in front of the committee that every aspirant directly pay in 500 pounds to the Lancaster University and in these four years each aspirant under the dual degree programme paid 2000 pounds whereas Comsats got Rs500, 000 fees of total 8 semesters.

It was told to PAC that Higher Education Commission restricted Comsats last year from granting the Lancaster University degree and gave 3 choices to the university and out of these choices, Comsats accepted the option of availing itself of the degree from Lancaster University as well as transcription from Comsats.

HEC had not any objection to dual degree programme however HEC have issue on single combine degree. In the meeting it was also told that when this dual degree programme was introduced, the present chairman of HEC Dr Mukhtar Ahmad was also in Comsats.